


Tutorial

by somanyopentabs



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 00:59:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3338234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somanyopentabs/pseuds/somanyopentabs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Naki discovers make-up and no one is very nice to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tutorial

**Author's Note:**

> Eh, use caution when reading this? I don't know if it's any worse than canon but it's my first time writing these characters and no one is very nice at all--which makes me sound like a wimp but oh well...  
> Rated M for how creepy everything feels, not for sex (unfortunately)

The best thing about the magazine that Naki picked up was all of the pictures. Glossy and bright, they drew him in. It was easy to follow along, and he could understand some of the words.

“Hey, are you gonna buy that or what?” the man at the counter snapped at him as Naki flipped through the pages, enthralled.

Naki walked up to the cash register and slammed the magazine down.

 

~

 

“Where did this come from?” Ayato asked when he found Naki on his own, peering at his purchase. He snatched the magazine from his hands, causing Naki to shout in protest.

“Give that back.”

“Where did you get this?”

“A store. Give it back.”

“Why do you have it?”

Naki nearly screamed in frustration. “It’s mine.”

“Fine, whatever.” Ayato tossed it back at his face. “Keep your stupid magazine.”

“It’s not stupid,” Naki said, but Ayato was already on his way out of the room.

 

~

 

“Nico,” Naki said again, trying to get the other ghoul’s attention for at least the third time.

“Yes, what is it?” Nico muttered. 

“Where do you buy make-up?”

“Stores, where else?” he answered impatiently.

“What stores?” Naki insisted. 

“Department stores. They have a whole section devoted to it. Why?”

“I wanted to know,” Naki said simply. Nico’s make-up wasn’t the same as what Naki was looking for, but it had to be a start.

 

~

 

Naki came back from his shopping trip with a tiny bag full of products that he dumped over his bed to inspect.

First was something called concealer, and then a powder, and then the last, the smallest container, was an eyeshadow.  
There were tiny brushes to apply everything. Naki carefully laid out his magazine next to his mirror.

Step by step, he followed the pictures until he was satisfied. It took a few tries with his clumsy hands, and his eyes were watering from when he’d accidentally poked them with the brush, but all in all he could count it as a success.

 

~

 

It became a little routine that Naki was proud of. He laid all the products out on his nightstand to apply every morning. Every night he would wash his face with soap and water. He had forgotten once, and had woken up the next morning with black smears all over his face and pillow.

Having a routine helped with the loneliness, too. It was easier to get up in the morning when he knew what he should do first.

 

~

 

From time to time he would buy another magazine. He liked to imagine what it would be like to be one of the beautiful models in the glossy photos. He was sure they never wanted for company.

He wasn’t naïve enough to think that he could ever compare.

 

~

 

Nico was showing off again, and Naki wanted to punch him. He was sick of him being the center of attention every time he stepped into a room. 

Currently, Nico had drawn Yamori into a conversation that Naki wished he could join. They were speaking in low voices and insinuating plans that left Naki’s head reeling. Couldn’t they speak in plain language?

It hurt, knowing that if he left the room just then, no one would notice.

He hovered near the two ghouls, who were sitting in armchairs with their heads leaning in toward each other. He finally settled near Yamori’s feet, crossing his legs and straining his ears to listen.

 

~

 

Out of everyone, Ayato was the first one to notice the make-up.

“Are you trying to be like Nico, now?” Ayato sneered.

“No, I’m not.”

“Then what’s up with the stuff on your face?”

“None of your business,” Naki sniffed. In truth, it would have been nice to explain, not that Ayato would understand.

 

~

 

Yamori took Naki across town with him one day, to see if they could get some information from a source.

“Thank you for taking me with you, aniki,” Naki said, grateful that no one else had come along.

“Humph. This could be a dead end, for all we know. I’m not going to be very happy if it is.”

“Maybe we’ll find something, aniki,” Naki offered in a hopeful tone.

 

~

 

As it turned out on that trip, they ran into doves, and it was all Naki could do to fight them off alongside his aniki.

Yamori was not happy at all when they at last returned to headquarters. He punched a hole in a wall, causing Naki to cringe and wonder if he was next.

“Aniki?” Naki said softly, walking uneasily into punching range.

Yamori was breathing heavily.

“What?”

“I’m sorry we didn’t find anything. We can try again—“

Yamori turned to look at him, his hands still clenched into fists.

“Your make-up is running.”

Naki touched a hand to his cheek and it came away smudged. “Oh, so it is.”

“Do you know how tempting it is to mess you up even more?” Yamori’s deep voice echoed in Naki’s ears.

“Th-then why don’t you?” Naki stuttered.

Yamori turned away. “Go on, get out of here. Leave me in peace.”

“But, aniki—“

“I said go,” Yamori said again firmly, in the voice that meant he’d better listen or there would be consequences.

Naki left.

 

~

 

“How badly did you fuck things up this time?” Ayato asked the next day. “Yamori’s still pissed.”

“It wasn’t my fault we ran into doves,” Naki said.

“Useless,” Ayato said, flicking a piece of lint off his shirt. “He should have taken me.”

 

~

 

A few days later, Yamori came into Naki’s room with bloody knuckles. Naki was sitting cross-legged on his bed attempting to replace the earring that had fallen out.

“You okay, aniki?” Naki asked, dropping the earring in surprise. It fell between his legs.

“Who are you doing all that for?” Yamori asked as Naki reached to find the small cuff.

“What? The earrings?”

“And the make-up. And the way you fix your hair.”

“Um.” Naki supposed he hadn’t thought about it that way. He had liked it. He liked looking a certain way. It wasn’t to catch anyone’s attention. No one ever paid him any mind.

No one except Yamori, and that was only sometimes, when he was lucky enough.

“You don’t like it?” Naki asked.

“I never said that.” Yamori walked over and took the found earring from Naki’s hands. “Look up at me.”

For someone with such huge hands and fingers, Yamori was surprisingly dexterous. He replaced the earring easily and affixed it with the backing.

“Thank you,” Naki whispered. It felt too intimate for his usual volume.

 

~

 

Nico cornered Naki the next day.

“Let me give you some advice,” he said.

Nico was so self-absorbed that Naki was shocked to hear those words from him.

“Okay?” he prompted.

“Don’t try to be something you’re not. There are those of us who are going places, and doing great things, and then there are those of us who are errand boys. Do you get what I’m saying?”

“I—what?”

“You are not cut out for greatness,” Nico explained, poking him in the chest with one perfectly manicured finger. “You might be trying to get close to the boss, but you are not a leader.”

Naki scrunched up his face. He got that Nico was trying to be cruel, but he didn’t understand why.

“Do you get me? Errand boy, got that?”

Naki was uncomfortable and he wanted the conversation to end, so he nodded. “I think so.”

“Good. I’m glad we had this talk.”

 

~

 

Yamori was gone for a few days, and then he suddenly reappeared, dragging Naki along to a hotel.

“Why here?” Naki asked after Yamori had checked them in under false names.

“We’re going to survey the area. Warehouses are all under watch.”

“Why did you bring me?”

“I trust you the most not to kill me in my sleep,” Yamori laughed.

 

~

 

Yamori was sitting in one of the hotel chairs, talking on the phone, when Naki decided to wander over and sit by his feet.

Naki could only hear one end of the conversation, and what he heard didn’t make much sense to him. His eyelids grew heavy, and aniki’s sturdy legs looked like the perfect place to rest his forehead. It was only a half-conscious decision when he tilted over and slumped against him.

 

~

 

“Naki.” Yamori’s gruff voice drifted to his ears.

“Mmm?” Naki answered, blinking his eyes into focus.

“Come on. You can’t stay down there forever.”

Strong arms lifted Naki to his feet, and Yamori helped him to the hotel bed.

“Don’t be mad, aniki,” Naki pleaded as he felt his body being pushed down into the mattress.

“You’re not the one I’m mad at. Stay here. I’ll be back by sunrise.”

 

~

 

Yamori had someone else’s blood on his suit when he returned to the room. Naki could tell in an instant.

“Why didn’t you take me? I could have helped,” Naki said as Yamori took off his suit jacket.

“Next time.”

 

~

 

Yamori showered in the small hotel bathroom after that. When he came out, he didn’t smell like blood or killing.

 

~

 

In the morning, Yamori watched Naki do his make-up. It made him flush so red that even his concealer couldn’t help him.

“It’s really not that interesting,” Naki said.

“Hmm. I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Um, all right.”

“You’re tempting me again,” Yamori said.

“What?”

“To mess you up.”

“Please, aniki,” Naki said, peering up at him. “Why don’t you?”

Yamori sighed. “Because I don’t know if I could put you back together.”

 

~

 

Naki was never very good at thinking of quick responses. He didn’t know what he should have said. Maybe things would have been different if he could have said:

“I don’t care. Take me apart. Remake me.”


End file.
